Elemental
by SkyStrider
Summary: In China, the opening shot of the Storm happens as Toshio Kuno's mercenaries attack the Amazon Henna with re-discovered Lore. Henna retaliates, sending a spirit to possess him. Now Ranma and Akane are in a battle free the billionaire's soul. Meanwhile, a new love interest enters Nodoka's life.
1. Combatants

A/N: There are character descriptions in my profile.

* * *

Prologue:

 _Apay, the World Fire Sprite, looked at the page floating between her hands and nodded at it. Ink began to flow across the page forming ancient words. She continued, her words weaving a purpose into the page: "But some Fire Magic is at the very core of my Being. If any part of me exists, then it can be recalled. And the deeper that Knowledge, the more potent the power, the more likely I am to still have it, even if I can't understand it - until now." The page began to glow. "And now, dear Usurper, I'm about to share that knowledge with the World again." At that, the page vanished._ \- From "Kasumi's Wedding", last paragraph of Chapter 2

* * *

Chapter 1: Combatants (Tuesday, December 24, 2002)

Toshio Kuno reviewed the dispatches from China. The supplies he had over-nighted made it, along with the Fire Mages. They had performed the incantation, and now everything was set. The mercenaries trying to collect the bounty on Henna's head (the one Kuno had increased as of late) had chafed at the delay, but they had postponed the attack on Henna's stronghold. They also agreed to wait for Kuno's people to leave the area so long as Kuno offered to pay for their time upfront.

"Now we see if this is a trap or a discovery," he thought. To say he was suspicious was an understatement. "A piece of forgotten Fire Lore shows up suddenly in three different places - including my Nerima compound? And it's complete enough not to need any further research despite its complexity? Bullshit! I'd blame Ono for this except he seemed genuinely surprised when he saw it. My agents say he immediately locked himself away with a copy for two hours and then called every mage he could think of."

Kuno's own mages were either ecstatic or terrified at the find. The one who first tried to cast it leveled her lab. She walked out of the disaster area only a little singed but otherwise unharmed. She was also completely lost in wonderment. It took Kuno's people about two hours to snap her out of it. When the mage returned to herself, she spoke like a possessed woman in a hyper voice instructing anyone who would listen. She told everyone the spell needed multiple people to cast it - three people was the absolute minimum, and the more people, the stronger the spell.

"She said it was like a cosmic eraser. It tapped into the Power of Creation and restored everything to its simplest, most inert state," Kuno mused. "It manifests as a fireball and sets fire to everything, including magical items. The others were terrified that the Fire wouldn't stop, but it seemed to follow normal rules after the initial fuel used in the spell was burned up. Giving it new fuel without the spell doesn't extend the magic. The real question is what it does to Henna's troops…"

* * *

Henna looked out over the ravine that led to her stronghold. "That blasted demon blocked my scrying port," she thought. "But he can't touch my spies. I know the attack is scheduled for tonight. The people in Yushu are terrified of me - they'd sell out their own parents to have me feed on anyone but them." Off in the distance, Henna heard them: four Russian attack helicopters raced toward her from out over the valley. They were invisible in the dark – to everyone but Henna. "You're late, idiots," she thought contemptuously. "If you wanted to catch me off-guard, you should have attacked during the Solstice – not that the outcome is going to be any different."

Mist rose quickly in the ravine filling it completely. As the copters closed in on the mouth of the ravine, they somehow saw the mist and quickly broke off to the west instead of entering the ravine. "What?" she thought surprised. "They're breaking off their attack?" She watched as they accelerated away. "They knew not to dare the mist…interesting. Someone is learning." She sat down at the top of the ravine near the edge. She thought about sending clouds after them, but they were too far away now to target accurately. That's when she heard the first crash about one hundred meters behind her. She heard something hit the ground hard and the sound of fluid splashing. She sent her Power out, but found nothing. "That's not water based." Then she heard a crash closer and more fluid spilling - now she could smell it. "Someone's definitely learning. That's napalm. They're going to light the top of the cliff - possibly because they detected me - probably using infrared." The thudding and splashing was becoming frequent now – and closer. Henna stepped off the cliff and walked on the mist. She watched dispassionately as some sort of missile slammed down and flames roared all over the cliff top. The heat was intense, but Henna was fine wrapped in mist.

"Who's ever doing this is too high for me to detect. I can't hear anything either. But they struck with precision. This is not some ragtag bunch of mercenaries – the weapons are too high tech. The attackers are well-funded." More napalm bombs fell from the skies and fed the flames, spurting flaming fluid everywhere. Some of the napalm fell near Henna, but the unlit containers passed harmlessly into the mist. The roar the flames was deafening though.

If it wasn't for Henna's active premonition, she would have never noticed the helicopters returning to the fight. She turned just in time to see the attack helicopters launch a missile volley and then tear upwards. Henna watched confused for a moment as the missiles came nowhere near her but vanished into the mist. "What the hell?" she wondered loudly. "If they knew to avoid the mist, then they should know that the house is untouchable!" Just as she uttered those words, the mist lit brightly from within and there was a tremendous explosion beneath her. Henna was blasted high into the air and back towards the burning napalm. She called the mist to her and used it to push back the napalm by wrapping the fluid in rock and soil. She also used the mist to soften her impact as she fell onto bare rock, but it still hurt.

Rage filled her. She staggered upright as chunks from the upper floors of her house fell on the landscape around her. As she watched the pieces morphed into body parts and even complete corpses. Then the pieces began to burn in the napalm. More barrels of napalm fell, splitting open and adding to the fire. "That's not possible!" she thought. "The Fire is freeing the souls I have captive! NO!" She began calling water up from the soil to force the fire away from the body pieces, but her premonition kicked in again. She turned to see the helicopters firing again at her home. "I'll kill them! I'll kill them all!" she shouted. But there were more explosions and more pieces of her house were blown up into the air again. The pieces hit the ground and became corpses. She watched angrily as some of the corpses staggered up and dove into the flames.

She looked at the copters tearing away again. "I'll replace them with you!" she roared. She forgot about the escaping souls and sent her mist after the closest helicopter. The copter wasn't quiet fast enough to get away and the mist caught the machine by the tail. Henna made a vicious gesture with her fist. The mist slammed the copter against the side of the ravine, then let it drop out of sight. "I'll collect them later," she thought. "The mist will hold them for now."

The other helicopters were climbing out of range. "They're not done," she thought. "But they won't come in range again. They're just going to bomb my house from a distance. Somehow, they have Blessed Fire. It's been re-discovered! " Already, she could feel the copters leveling off and preparing another run. "I have to stop them," she added grimly. With that thought, she jumped off the cliff and sank into the mist.

* * *

Razor looked down at the sleeping Village wrapped in its white mist. "Henna's fighting again, and I'm the only one who knows," the Amazon elder thought. She fingered the amulet about her neck. "All the others see and hear nothing outside the Village. Not even the sentries are aware." She looked over the hills where flashes lit up the sky and explosions sounded.

She stood there for some time watching the distant fight until she heard someone coming up the hill behind her. "Good evening General Xie," she called out without turning around.

"You must tell me how you do that sometime," a male voice responded. Razor turned to see a fit middle aged Han Chinese man dressed in military fatigues walking toward her.

"I'm an Amazon warrior, even at this age," she answered him. "No one gets the drop on me."

The general snorted lightly. "Normally, I'd scoff at that, but I've seen you in action – I don't doubt it."

"Who is it this time?" Razor asked gesturing at the distant fight.

"A bunch of Australian mercs with backing. They managed to get hold of some good Russian hardware. They are good – very good. They even did some research," he answered. He took out a cigarette and lit it. "I think half of them might get away."

"And they'll add to the research," Razor said with a sigh.

Xie nodded. "It's going to happen," he said. "There's nothing you can do about it. The Enemy has been burning resources for a long time now. Sooner or later, she'll over extend herself and your village will pay the price – one way or another."

"You won't overrun us or use a nuke," Razor snorted. "We're on the world stage now. You know we have researchers living among us."

"We won't have to," Xie said calmly. "If you don't listen to me, the researchers themselves will tell you to move." Razor looked at him distrustfully. "Despite what you believe," he started again. "Beijing doesn't what you dead, Elder. The Amazons were once guardians of a great Power. Killing you may unleash that Power on Beijing, and we don't want it. We want it gone – we want nothing within our boarders we cannot control – or at least isolate. We have taken steps and formed alliances toward that end. Your people will help us – you will have to in the end in order to survive here."

"I severely doubt that," Razor said harshly and disdainfully.

"I wouldn't," he told her. "Beijing is not without our own Seers – and not all of them are mystical. We know several things you don't."

"We have our own Lore," Razor snapped.

"And yet, you're using our Lore to see the Truth about Henna," he replied smoothly while pointing at the amulet around her neck. Razor looked annoyed and was about to take it off when he stopped her by stating: "You are the only hope for the survival of your people. Will you allow your Pride to destroy them?"

She blew out a deep breath at him in frustration as she dropped her arms. "What do you want from us?" she demanded.

"I want you to start preparing a copy of your Lore. I also want you to choose five to ten fertile couples to take care of that copy. You should choose couples with a sense of adventure and a certain restlessness about them," he answered.

"You want me to give you ten breeding couples," she asked amazed.

"These are likely to leave the village anyway, so the loss to your tribe won't be all that great," he replied. "Some of them you will be glad to get rid of anyway."

"All our people are important," she said sharply.

"What happened to the blind boy? Mousse was his name I believe?" the general asked in an off-handed tone. Razor snapped her mouth shut. "Five to ten couples," Xie reiterated. "Let them know they are going on an adventure to foreign lands – one that will probably take the rest of their lives to accomplish."

"I will not do this!" Razor snarled.

Xie turned to walk away. Over his shoulder, he said: "But you will, Elder Razor. If you don't do it, Beijing will not help you. And you're about to need our help badly. Have the couples ready to travel by the Equinox. They will leave sometime after that." With that, he walked away, leaving Razor to grind her teeth.

* * *

Henna looked at the wreckage of the two helicopters. The fourth one had gotten away, despite the storm she set on it. The first copter was still in the ravine waiting for her. None of the airmen from these two machines survived the crashes, but Henna did not care – she had managed to stop their souls from escaping. Everything that they knew would be hers. "And they can tell me who or what threw the barrels of napalm," she thought. "I couldn't find the bomber. I'm not sure now if there was one. It might have been some type of artillery."

She looked at a nearby corpse that had been thrown from one of the copters. "Your mine now." She raised her hand and began to chant. Her voice would have sounded hollow to living mortals had any been around to hear her and her words matched no known language. Clear water seemed to ooze out of the nearest corpse and surround the body as a puddle. The corpse began to wither and shrink in on itself. The puddle grew quite large and refused to soak into the ground; instead beading up and away from the ground as much as gravity would allow. Then sharp cracking sounds came from the corpse over and over again. Henna smiled as the air above the corpse began screaming. The corpse contracted becoming shorter and thinner, drying out even further and resembling an unwrapped mummy – dried and shriveled. Now screaming came from other corpses at the crash site and Henna's smile grew wider. She raised her hand higher, palm out. Suddenly she clenched her fists and the screaming rose to shake its surroundings. The water pooled about the corpse flowed toward Henna, rising further from the ground until it resembled a snake. Other water snakes came from here and there in the wreckage. The water snakes undulated to Henna amidst the screaming and coiled around her. Henna's smile changed from malice to pleasure. She raised her other fist so both of them were held high. Then her hands snapped open and pleasure became ecstasy. The water coiled about her, contracted, and sank effortlessly into her frame. It vanished without a trace and the screaming stopped. Henna stood there for a long time afterward with her eyes closed.

Finally, she sighed happily and opened her eyes. Before her stood several shrunken nude zombies, their gender lost to the dust. "Welcome to the family," she told them. "And thank you for the information. I'm happy so many more will be joining us – starting with that group attacking in seven days." A red light flickered briefly in some of the zombies' eyes, the last vestiges of their free will. Henna gave a nasty smirk and said: "Now, my house is missing two floors and needs some repair work. Let's go gather the rest of your friends and we can get started. Then I will deal with Toshio Kuno…"

* * *

Kuno looked at the dispatches from his observers in China. He turned to one of his ninjas and said:

"Have someone debrief the survivors immediately. Then pass the information around Yushu to the other teams trying for the bounty on Henna. Let them know that Henna was waiting for this team, so there are leaks. I'd advise cancelling and re-scheduling any planned attacks. Also, put the word out I want to hire more mages - Fire Mages in particular, but I'll take who I can get. Advertise that the job is in Chengdu."

"Are we setting up a base there, Master? Should I ready the team to move?" the ninja asked.

"No. Things weren't *that* successful," Kuno told his man. "But a dent was made. Maybe - just maybe - we can keep Henna's eyes focused in China."

* * *

The demon sat on a hillside looking down as Henna marshaled her new 'family members' and marched them to the stairway cut into the ravine that appeared at Henna's command. The demon (some said his name was Ba) was only mildly interested - he'd check out the lot later and see if there was any truly evil souls among them that he could feed on. If nothing else, maybe he could feed on their terror - the souls imprisoned by Henna were starting to resist him. In truth, the demon did inspire terror. His head was mostly bovine including the horns, but no bull or cow ever had such a collection of fangs. The body looked like an large emaciated human with a thick red hide except for the huge hands which bore long sharp claws about two decimeters long. It was the claws that announced the thing's occupation. The monster was a Soul Collector, a demon sent from Hell to retrieve escaped spirits. This time, its job wasn't to return a soul, but to collect one long overdue for Hell – the spirit of the Amazon Henna, current Regent of the Seasons and enslaver of Queen Mizu. Unfortunately, Henna was still alive. But Ba was patient, and he gleefully served as a reminder to Henna that her days were numbered (even if she had apparently triumphed over the Sprite's plan to kill her). Such was the price of mortality.

Once Henna was gone, Ba leapt up and strode down to the now empty battlefield. He walked over to one of the burnt out areas and knelt down. The demon stirred the ashes with one of his fingers and then tasted the remains by touching his tongue. His cat eyes narrowed in surprise as his body shook ever so slightly. Then he lifted his head and roared his silent laughter at the uncaring stars.

* * *

A/N: Next up - Visitations


	2. Visitations

Chapter 2: Visitations (Friday, December 27, 2002)

Rera, the World Wind Sprite, felt the volcano building – his spirit brother was about to go critical. "Tofu really ticked Ranma off this time," he noted understatedly. He felt Ranma link his mind with Akane and Mousse.

 _"Rera?"_ the thought came to him through the link. _"She's pissed! Everything's glowing!"_

 _"It's going to get worse – Ranma's tapping into the Nexus,"_ he thought back to Apay. _"He's feeding her power. Just take cover – this is between them and Tofu."_

 _"We should do something!"_ Apay insisted.

 _"No,"_ he thought firmly. _"We need to let them sort this out. They need Tofu – and he needs them, but boundaries have to be worked out. Stay out of it!"_

 _"But this is a huge amount of power for a temper tantrum! It's such a waste!"_ she replied.

Rera glanced around the Cat Temple as it too began glowing. _"It is, but this is necessary. They have to assert themselves here."_ Then an idea struck him. _"Actually, we need to assert ourselves too."_

 _"What? You just said to stay out of it!"_

 _"We need to gain control again. We need to bring the Realms back to us,"_ he stated.

There was silence for a few moments. _"Are you sure we're strong enough?"_ she asked.

 _"Maybe, but with Ranma and Akane – and Ryoga – we definitely are. If we talk to them and join with them, we can do it. We can start the Re-Ordering now and rob Henna of troops,"_ he told her.

 _"But the wedding…"_ she started.

 _"Is a perfect time,"_ he responded firmly. _"We can use it to show the Trio why it's necessary. If we use their temper tantrum to issue the Call, just enough Elementals will be about to drive the point home *before*things reach critical. We can even reward the Wedding Couple for putting up with us."_

 _"Are you sure about this?" I mean really sure?"_ she pushed.

 _"Yes, we can make this work."_

There was more silence; then Apay thought back: _"All right. Let's do this…."_

* * *

 _Mousse felt he was standing in the center of an explosion. Ranma's and Akane's power expanded in a shockwave out from him and rolled over the neighborhood. His companions dropped to their knees at the expenditure of energy, but they didn't let go of his hands. The shockwave lit up everyone and everything ethereally as it passed over them. Mousse saw many Unseen, including the dearly departed, and a few imps and sprites that he made note to follow up on later. The wave hit the clinic and he saw Tofu's shield Shatter. The doctor-now-turned-mercenary smiled grimly across the distance at him. Then Tofu ran into his room and vanished in an explosion of energy. "Ah, hell!" Mousse burst out. "That's got to be a Gate!"_ \- From "Kasumi's Wedding", second section of Chapter 8.

* * *

Henna was furiousl Despite all her recent victories, there was one enemy she couldn't beat - yet. Once more, Ba had figured out how to anger her - and there was nothing she could do about it! The demon was immune to her magic. She (or anyone else for that matter) couldn't hurt him because he was protected by the Seven Contracts Henna had signed, exchanging her soul for Power. He couldn't hurt her because she was among the living - he only had power over the Dead. Even then, unless the Dead were on his collection list, he could only attack if attacked.

But that didn't mean he couldn't drive the living or the dead out of their minds. He would always show up unannounced - one minute he wasn't there, the next he was. He had a habit of placing his face centimeters from hers when she slept, so she often woke up staring at his double sets of teeth (he could hold any pose for hours). If he wasn't doing that at night, he was sitting on Henna's throne chair cleaning his nails with that damn click-click-click sound that echoed throughout the house. Many times when Henna attempted a Divination, he stuck his face in the Viewing Port.

He frightened the souls Henna held captive in the Wailing Room and fed on their terror - enough so that they were often no use to Henna for Power because they were so worn out. Worse yet, he had figured out a way to free some of the strongest ones…

* * *

The demon made a game of frightening and terrorizing the spirits trapped in Henna's house. His current favorite was a little girl who was about eight years old when she died - a relatively pure (and therefore powerful) soul. Ba had stalked through the house until he found her hiding behind an old couple. All three had been painfully killed by Henna over four years ago so the witch could invoke Blood Magic in a battle. Ba had made a show of slowly reached for her, invoking the girl's terror. Surprisingly, the old man she was hiding behind shot his spirit arm out of the wall and tried to punch Ba. Again, Ba couldn't actually harm any of the spirits - unless they attacked him.

The demon grabbed the arm and yanked the old man from the wall. Clay became desiccated flesh and a zombie formed in front of Ba. It attacked the demon, but, with a silent laugh, Ba crushed its head with one hand. On the follow thru, Ba pushed the remains of the head down into the torso and kept pushing until there was nothing but a pile of muck where the zombie once stood. Henna had arrived on the scene then and screamed at the spirits to ignore Ba. In response, Ba laughed soundlessly at her. He shot his hand out at the child-soul again, but this time the old woman attacked the demon to protect the child. In less than two seconds, she was a pile of muck next to her husband. Henna had been forced to place a large Ward between Ba and the walls of the house to stop him - a very energy draining ward. She had also promised to erase Ba so he wouldn't even exist as an idea, but the demon was still grinning when she left.

* * *

Henna had managed to find some Lore regarding Soul Collectors. It was very hard to find them outside of Hell. They were single-minded and determined and did their best not to attract attention. They couldn't be banished (or rather, no one knew how), but that was normally all right because they usually did not bother the living or inanimate. They didn't even bother the newly dead; they just tracked down evil souls that had escaped Hell, and no one really saw a need to stop them. As far as summoning goes, there were no written spells anywhere. In fact, where such spells should have been, pages had been blacked out or ripped out. One sage had taken the trouble to create a beautifully indexed section filled with the lines "I will not summon Soul Collectors" written over and over again. Another author had insisted that the Summoner should find a less troublesome species of demon, like maybe a Duke of Hell or something safer. Yet another had written the words: "Don't - Just Don't."

"Even the Sprite hates him and she arranged for him," Henna thought. Of course, the Sprite did it because Henna had sold her to Hell. The Sprite had weaseled out of it by showing the Lords of Hell a way out of the trap Henna had set for them. But Ba hadn't forgotten that the Sprite should have been on his list and made sure to annoy her frequently. "If I ever find out who gave Ba that set of bagpipes, I'll seal his soul in solid rock for a million years," Henna thought. "He got both of us at once with that bit."

"I'll find a way to destroy him yet," she promised herself.

* * *

Ba stood on the cliff above Henna's house watching the sun rise. He glowed as the sun outlined him in fire, but he was a true demon. Darkness did not make him stronger - nor did light make him weaker. He was as he was. Once the sun cleared the horizon, he raised his arms. His huge fists were closed tight and he seemed to be concentrating. Slowly, he opened his hands and two balls of light appeared caught in his claws, echoing the sun. These were souls of the old man and old woman that had tried to strike him. Unfortunately, now that he had absorbed them, they were of little use to him or anyone else. So he opened his hands wider and the balls became larger and brighter as he willed them to separate from himself. They disentangled themselves from his claws and floated up away from him. As he watched dispassionately, they slowly rose into the air and became lost in the sun. The demon flexed his claws, closed his eyes, and relaxed, content to let Heaven deal with the unwanted souls.

After standing there a while, Ba became aware of a faint rushing sound moving toward him quickly. He opened his eyes and looked to the east again. Something was up with the sun - it seemed to have a halo around it. As he watched, the halo became larger and larger. He looked to the south east and then to the north east. Faintly, he could see a disturbance - like a refraction in the air - approaching him. As he studied it, it resolved itself: there was a wall of some type moving across the countryside toward him. It was impossibly high and stretched as far as he could see. The wall was mystical in nature, much like a Ward, but it lacked that much substance. His demon senses identified a slight curve to it, as if it was part of a circle with a very large radius. Fascinated, the demon watched it bear down on his local vicinity. As it passed over living things, they glowed briefly to his senses but otherwise seemed unchanged. Ba made no effort to evade it (that was not possible), nor did he try to shelter himself in any way. As it passed not over, but through him, he was struck by an incredible sense of anger and determination. Never before had he felt those things without hate or at least a sense of duty. The sensation was very curious to him indeed, but it was fleeting; the wall was very thin and moved on. Ba turned to track it.

As he watched the wall retreat to the west, Ba noted a new sound; one he recognized quite well: Rage. He looked up into the sky and saw spirits flowing toward the east. Most of them had some relation to Fire, Wind, and Earth - sprites and even a few full Elementals, but there were also some of the Dead, Blessed and otherwise. Unfortunately for Ba, none of the Dead were evil and none had escaped from Hell, so they were of no use to him. However, they (and their Rage) were still fascinating to him, so he continued to watch them fly into the east…

* * *

Henna stood in her workshop working a Divination spell that she hoped Ba would not pick up. Yesterday evening, she felt a shadow strike her spirit - a feeling of dread that she could not name. She had tried to cast a Viewing Sphere that she had learned from the Sprite, but Ba wrecked it. He also wrecked the next three attempts to look out at the world. So now she was attempting use a spell that drew from Light in the hopes that the demon wouldn't recognize it. As it was, she would only be able to use the spell a short time as it would likely make her sick, but she knew that there was something she needed to See.

Suddenly, she thought the wall of her workshop was falling on her. It seemed that the whole wall leaped at her, flowed through her and then left her. She dropped to her knees as defiant anger battered her. She would have fallen over completely except that she grabbed the counter. Just as quickly as it came, the sensation left. "What the hell was that?" she wondered as she pulled herself together.

Dimly, she became aware of the Sprite screaming: "STOP IT HENNA! I'LL BEHAVE! PLEASE!"

Henna ran upstairs to the main floor, then down the stone staircase that led to Henna's bathroom and the Sprite's tank. The Sprite lay on the floor of her tank, near the glass side moaning: "PLEASE!" she screamed again.

"SHUT UP, YOU COWARD!" Henna screamed back at the Sprite. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING!"

That seemed to catch the Sprite's attention. She lifted her head and stared at Henna. Henna started in surprise: the Sprite's face had aged ten years; now she looked to be sixty years old. As Henna watched, the Sprite pulled herself together and looked at Henna. "What happened to you?" the Sprite asked wearily.

Henna was taken aback. "What?" she asked her slave. "What do you mean?"

The Sprite shook her head and replied: "Go look in the mirror," she said harshly.

Henna did and started screaming too. Her own face had aged ten years; she looked to be 40 years old now. "What have you done to me?" she yelled.

"I DON'T HAVE ANY POWER! YOU TOOK IT ALL!" the Sprite screamed back. "I CAN'T DO ANYTHING! STOP HURTING ME!"

"I'M NOT…" Henna started screaming and brought herself up short. She looked at the Sprite's back as her slave lay there. There were large red stripes forming. Henna studied the bruising for a moment and said: "You were just attacked." She snapped her fingers and a Ward appeared around the Sprite. Henna very carefully sent out her thoughts. "Congratulations," she told her prisoner after a minute had gone by. "The Rebellion has begun. We just lost control of Air and Fire Elementals. Some of the Earth Sprites are joining too - I'm guessing it was them who struck you as they passed through as a reward for your noble service. No doubt, they are on their way to Nerima. Without a Wind or Fire King to control them, they will eventually lay waste to Japan as I predicted."

"We have to…" the Sprite started and then stopped at Henna's cold amused look.

"You just have to keep quiet and die slowly - very slowly," Henna told her. "You're finished. You have no more power. I plan to watch Japan below itself apart and feed on all those lovely people you and your plan killed. The sheer amount of blood spilled will restore my youth and keep it that way for ten thousand years. How else did you think I was going to beat the demon lords? They will be too busy sorting souls to even look in my direction for several hundred years. In the meantime, the Water Sprites and Elementals will continue to serve me."

"I'll stop you!" the Sprite said defiantly.

"You?" Henna laughed. "The only way to stop me is to kill yourself. Admittedly, you might build up the courage, but, even then, that won't save Japan. That will only allow Water to join the free-for-all. Then War will spread further and even more people will die." Henna smirked: "Besides, you can't kill yourself without my permission. You're mine." The Sprite dropped her head at this.

Henna's evil smirked returned as she watched her slave's abasement. "I suppose I should punish you for costing me ten years, but I'll get it back shortly. Besides, there's not much left to punish, is there? I have most of it. Anyway, Ba is distracted by all the war cries. I need to take a good look around while he's busy." Henna summoned a Viewing Sphere.

The Sprite looked at Henna hatefully. "You want to look around?" she whispered at Henna. "I'll give you something to look at!" The Sprite mentally reached out and seized control of the Sphere.

"What are you doing?" Henna demanded.

"You want to know why you were uneasy last night?" the Sprite shot back. "LOOK!"

As Henna watched, a picture of Akari Unryu arose in the Sphere. Henna hissed as she saw four dots on the young woman's forehead. "The mark of the Consecration!" the Spite snarled at Henna. "Watch!" Henna could do nothing else, so she saw Akari anoint herself with a vial of glowing Water. "She has been Blessed three times by the Waters," the Sprite said harshly "and has accepted her Destiny. First Wind, then Fire, and then Earth. Only Water is left to be undone, and the last Child has been anointed. Should she die in my presence - or yours, we are dead and gone. Behold the Instrument of Fate, Henna!" (1)

Henna turned and lashed out at the Sprite with lightning, but the Sprite's screams were mixed with laughter…

* * *

Saturday, December 28, 2002:

Toshio Kuno walked through Nerima on his way to the first appointment of the morning, despite his sour stomach (breakfast wasn't sitting too well for some reason or other). He had arrived at the Nerima late last night, but his people were already in motion ever since he had issued the order "White Queen" two days ago. Tatewaki would soon be in Mara's care and Toshio needed to make sure Nerima was ready to receive Tatewaki. Toshio's personal assistant, Ms. Nakagawa, had set up this appointment with the Ono Clinic. (2)

Toshio ran over everything in his mind. The timing was perfect. Tofu Ono was scheduled to get married on New Year's Day – the very day Mara assured Toshio that Tatewaki had to be delivered to Nerima. Unfortunately, that would take time and she didn't think she could make that happen before New Year's Day – nor did she think that was a good idea. "Tatewaki's issue is has a physical element to it – something embedded in his chemistry. Just removing it will destroy him. We need to re-wire things to keep him alive – or rather, *he* has to re-wire things," she told Toshio. Mara had to force Tatewaki to see that he was ill and needed healing. Also, the healing would require Power – a lot of Power. "The life of Nerima flows through the Nexus," she had said, referring to the spinning conjunction of Power flows at the heart of Nerima. "And it will still be in full spin due to the Solstice, so that will help, but we need a way to tap into it. Tofu Ono and Kasumi Tendo will be starting a new life together on New Year's Day. They are both powerful healers and mages, even if she is new to her Power. Since they are well liked throughout the Ward, they hold significant influence in the Nexus and it will respond to their new beginning. Its Power will be flowing through them – they will be our way." They couldn't delay because Tofu was scheduled to leave Nerima that night with his new bride and there were Others watching to make sure that happened. Besides, once the wedding happened, the Power would move on.

He sighed. "It would be so much easier not to believe in this mystical crap," he thought. "But I know better. I've seen way too much in life. Why couldn't I be more agnostic…"

He turned up the walk and entered the clinic. Uncharacteristically, he held a bottle of water in one hand. For some reason he was very thirsty this morning. As he walked through the door, the receptionist had just finished with the previous patient, so she smiled and nodded at Kuno to come forward. "Hello, my name is Toshio Kuno," he introduced himself. "I have an appointment with Doctor Ono for 9AM."

"Yes, you do," the middle-aged woman agreed. "Please go to patient room number 1." She handed him a clipboard loaded with forms. "Fill these out while you are waiting, please."

"Well, actually, it's not for …" he started.

The receptionist cut him off. "Actually, Dr. Ono was very specific, Mr. Kuno. You may think you're here on behalf of someone else, but he says you're here for you." She gave him a very direct look. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't know Who he was." He heard her add the capital letter. She dropped her voice a little and added: "You have your own doctors – five of them I believe. Fill out the form."

Kuno suppressed his temper. "Not a receptionist," he thought. "This woman knows who I am and she is a little too sure of herself. She knows he'll back her up and that this is his place of Power." He blew out his frustration and replied: "Fine. Which way?"

She gave him directions and he walked down the hall to the room. As he walked inside the room, the door shut by itself. Alarmed, he grabbed the door and twisted the handle, but the door opened easily. Puzzled, he let go of the door. It swung closed again. He tested the door once more, but nothing changed. It was then that he noted the runes glowing on the floor by the threshold when the door was closed. "Great," he grumbled sourly. "It's going to be one of those days."

He left the door alone and sat down in a chair. After a few minutes of sitting there, he glanced at the forms. On the very first page, in big hand-written red letters, were the words: "FILL OUT THE FORMS!" He resisted throwing the clipboard across the room. With a growl, he picked up the forms and noted that his name and address were already filled out. The red letters vanished.

He read off the first question: _"Are there currently any leans on your soul? Is so, please list your creditor(s)."_ The next was: _"Have you dealt with any daemons in the past? If so, please list them and their affiliations."_

"Oh god," he groaned. He wrote 'No' to the first two questions. The list went on in similar fashion:

 _"Do you know your soul name? Please just answer 'Yes' or 'no'. For gods' sakes, DO NOT WRITE IT DOWN!" -NO-_

 _"Are there any gods angry with you?_ " -NO-

 _"Have you had any dealings with a traveling gypsy, a beggar, or a sweet looking child?"_ -NO-

 _"Have you bargained with a supernatural creature within the past six month?_ "

Toshio paused, then answered "YES", and filled in the details. The page glowed briefly and his answer was converted to unreadable runes. "Well, at least there's confidentiality," he thought.

 _"Do you attend temple regularly?"_ -NO—

"Do you have any enemies?" -MANY-

"If yes, do they want you dead?" -YES-

"Do they have supernatural options?" -YES-

"Do you have the Sight?" -NO-

"Are you a Nerima Martial Artist?" -NO-

He answered several similar questions in the negative ("Thank god," he thought) until he hit a new block:

 _"Have you been cursed recently?"_

He wrote "No", but the word vanished as soon as he completed writing it. That made him pause for a moment. He wrote "No" again, but it vanished again. A third time he wrote "No" and began cursing under his breath when it vanished again. Now he wrote, "Yes" and the word stayed. The next question was:

 _"If 'Yes', by whom?"_

Kuno wrote "UNKNOWN". As soon as he printed the word, the clipboard vanished in a burst of light and the walls of the room began glowing softly.

"Now we can begin," Dr. Ono said as he appeared behind Kuno.

"You could have just told me," Kuno grumbled at him without surprise.

"You wouldn't believe me if I just out-and-out told you," Ono answered. "I had to make sure your mind was open."

"So, which one is after me now?" Kuno asked.

"I won't say 'No clue'; I have my suspects," Ono answered. He picked up a small four-way balance scale. Each cup of the balance was marked with the kanji character: Earth, Fire, Water, or Air - one cup for each Element. "Right arm out, palm up," he ordered. Kuno rolled his eyes but did as he was told. Ono placed the base of the scale on his palm. "Hold your hand steady." Now Kuno glared at the witch doctor for telling him the obvious, but the billionaire still held his tongue. The scale quickly tipped as if the Water cup was full.

"Henna," Kuno said without preamble.

Ono took the scale from him. "Wouldn't be a surprise since you put a price on her head, but it's not definite," he said with a shrug.

"I do have my own mages, Ono. It's got to be her if something got through," Kuno said a little sarcastically. "No one else has the power."

"And yet, I'm the one who caught this," Ono said smugly while Kuno threw him a sour look. Ono sobered and added: "We still have to find out what she did. Hopefully, I can counteract it." Kuno just sighed with annoyance and nodded.

"Let's try Possession first," the doctor suggested. "That sort of makes sense given the range." He pulled out a small gem stone and touched it to Kuno's forehead. The gem immediately shot out of Ono's hand and bounced off the far wall. The doctor caught it on the rebound. "We have a winner," he announced unnecessarily.

Toshio looked honestly surprised. "I feel like myself…" he commented.

"I don't think it's mind control," Ono stated. "Anything unusual at all?" he asked.

Kuno sat there for several moments. "Water - I've been very thirsty since I woke up this morning. And my stomach's been sour all morning too," he answered finally. "I haven't thought much about it because other things are afoot."

"Fine, let's draw some blood and get a urine sample. I want to check for diabetes, kidney issues, and electrolyte balance," Ono said firmly. "I doubt it's a cancer or hormone imbalance. A curse would be faster acting. We'll do more tests if those don't reveal anything. I'll also run some Other tests on your blood."

"How long until we get the results?" Kuno asked.

"A few hours - with all the Martial Artists in the area, these are routine tests for Nerima General. They've gotten quite fast. My tests will take a little longer. I'll have Nurse Kanon draw the blood," Ono replied.

"Fine. Now, can I tell you why I came here?" Kuno asked.

"No, I don't have time," Ono said as he turned away. "The answer to your request is 'Yes, Kasumi and I will help you'. Keep in mind it has to happen before we say 'I do', and we cannot delay the wedding more than a couple of hours or we will no longer be one of the Centers - people will move on. Find Tatewaki quickly."

"WHAT?" Kuno yelled. "You already knew?!"

"Toodles," Ono said with an insufferable grin as he opened the door and walked out. The door closed quickly.

Kuno leaped up and yanked the door open - or rather he tried. It refused to budge. He then let out a string of blood curdling profanity, cursing Kitsunes and their offspring until the ninth generation. Unfortunately, his words had no real power. Eventually, he ran out of venom and sat down again. As soon as he did, Nurse Kanon opened the door and walked in. Kuno immediately sprang up.

"Don't even bother," she said holding up a warning hand. She looked to be in her mid-thirties and was wearing a standard scrubs uniform. She looked very in shape and formidable. "You already agreed. You're not getting out of the Clinic until you fulfilled your word." She pointed at the chair.

"This is why I have my own doctors," he said loudly as he sat down.

"Then you should ditch them," she answered firmly. "Here, we don't worry about hurting your pride. We tell you what you need to know, like it or not."

Toshio bit his tongue and rolled up his sleeve. She drew his blood coolly and professionally. Then she handed him a medical container. "The toilet is this way, Mr. Kuno," she said.

A short time later, he handed Kanon the container again. "Doctor Ono has your cell phone number. He will call you about mid-day," she told him.

Kuno blew out a big breath. "Fine," he acknowledged. Kanon rolled her eyes and he grinned at finally annoying her a little. "Have a good day, Nurse Kanon." She returned the wish and he left the Clinic.

He checked his watch - 10:15AM. He pulled out his phone and called Ms. Nakagawa. "Yes, Mr. Kuno?" she acknowledged.

"Have someone meet me at the Sea Quester Restaurant in one hour. I want my blood drawn and tested for diabetes and electrolytes," her told her. "I want the results ASAP, so make provisions."

"Are you feeling all right, sir," she asked sounding concerned.

"No - I'm annoyed!" he said loudly. "Apparently, I've been cursed and a smart-aleck told me before my own mages did! Round up that bunch of incompetents and tell them to haul their asses to the Sea Quester pub! They better be there before I get there! I'm on my way now!"

"Yes, Sir!" she answered smartly.

* * *

A/N: Footnotes:

1) Tie in to "Baptism."

2) Tie in to "The Other Side of the Looking Glass."

* * *

A/N: Next up - Nodoka (although there will be a one week break so I can post a Valentine's Day story).


	3. Nodoka

Chapter 3: Nodoka (Saturday, December 28, 2002)

Nodoka walked through the streets with a spring in her step. Despite the frenetic activities surrounding Tofu's and Kasumi's weddings, she had managed to finish two large Nuido pieces before the New Year. The embroidery featured holiday themes, so it was important to get the pieces on display as fast as possible. With any luck, they would sell over the weekend and their new owners would be able to display the pieces to open the New Year. She was also very happy with how things were going in general. Kasumi's unflappable demeanor had returned after Kin Ono had a long chat with her. Nodoka had managed to get the young woman to let go of most of the household chores. Now Kasumi was just focused on the wedding. Akane was trying to help with the chores and actually succeeding. Granted, Nodoka had to keep an eye on her overly enthusiastic daughter-in-law, but last night's dinner had been quite good, even by Nodoka's stringent standards.

Nodoka had another reason to smile - this morning's antics. Courtesy of the Christmas holiday, Ranma had escaped his big brother's wake-up call for several mornings running, and Tofu was determined to end the streak. Last night, Tofu had stayed at the Clinic to keep an eye on Mousse and Ranma had slept in Akane's room. Tofu had appeared at the Tendo residence first thing this morning with the intention of waking Ranma and then running back to wake Mousse. The doctor had reasoned that Akane was more of a morning person, so she probably wouldn't care about the morning call.

This was a major miscalculation. Yes, Akane was more of a morning person than Ranma. However, Akane was also very possessive of her private time with Ranma. Had the doctor knocked on her door like Kasumi usually did, she would have responded that she was awake and would wake up Ranma - the implication that how she did it was her call and her business. Likewise, Ranma was also possessive of his time with Akane and usually enjoyed how she woke him up. Therefore, both were extremely annoyed when the bed under them began rudely vibrating due to the trumpeting of a bull elephant sounding from underneath. Of course, this was in addition to the residual resentment of having been excluded from chasing down Happosai.

Tofu only appreciated the size of his error when he had to hit the floor to avoid the two Chi balls converging on him. He had been standing in the family room directly under Akane's room. Even before the elephant's call faded, Akane had appeared at one end of the family room standing by the kitchen hallway. Despite the fact she was wearing her short yellow summer pajamas, she somehow gave the impression of an enraged Valkyrie - it might have been the battle aura which was apparent even to a shocked Nodoka or the heat coming off Akane like a bonfire making Nodoka wonder why the house didn't burst into flame. Of course, the answer to her question might have been the wintry gale coming from the patio door. Ranma had appeared there - he had obviously leaped out Akane's window and came in from the back to make sure Tofu didn't escape that way. Ranma was naked to the waist, wearing only sweatpants. Like Akane, his battle aura was visible to the naked eye and was strong enough to make his skin appear blue. As the two Chi balls collided above him, Tofu realized that he was caught between the Dragon and the Phoenix. He promptly vanished from where he lay. Immediately, the house filled with "soul light" blinding Nodoka as Akane and Ranma released simultaneous Nova Bursts.

When Nodoka's eyes eventually cleared, the only other person in the room was Kasumi. Nodoka gathered her wits and prompted the shocked young woman to locate the three combatants - Nodoka had to see how this one would end. Kasumi led Nodoka out back to Grandmother Tendo's tree. The tall tree was considered sacred by the Tendo family, a fact that Tofu knew very well. The mage-healer was located high in the tree standing on a stout branch. Ranma and Akane were looking up at him and telling him that he'd have to come down sometime. The doctor smugly informed them that the clinic didn't open until well after school started and they'd have to leave first - never mind that they still had to get cleaned up and dressed.

Tofu should have been a little less smug; then he might have not annoyed Sasuke. The little ninja usually watched over the Tendo family from that tree. Part of his job (assigned to him by Toshio Kuno) was to make sure no one disturbed Akane's and Ranma's relationship - the couple was to be left alone. Interrupting their private time definitely violated the prohibition. As a result, Tofu was caught off guard when Sasuke suddenly appeared behind him and pushed him out of the tree and into the hands of the waiting couple.

Sometime later, Ranma and Akane hurried off to school while Tofu sat in the tub getting warm again. He was also trying unsuccessfully to contain his laughter despite the bruises he was forcing to speed-heal. The young couple had administered a mild beating accompanied by a dunking in the Koi pond. None of this had any effect on Tofu's glee. Nodoka remembered hearing him crow to Kasumi:

 _"Did you see them, Love?! Wordless communication, synchronized action, perfect strategy, mutual spell casting - it was absolutely beautiful! Already, there isn't a martial artist in Nerima that would dare to take the two of them on together! Soon, there won't be a mage either!"_

Nodoka's smile widened at the memory. Admittedly, it filled her with pride to hear Tofu talk about his students that way. But even more so, something else filled her with happiness. When Ranma appeared looking like a god of war, he was barely dressed. That meant that he had slept in Akane's bed in male form - had he slept in his female form, his male form would have been dressed in his running clothes. Akane was more completely dressed (if you call summer pajamas in December dressed), but her top was on backwards - obviously she had dressed at supersonic speed.

Nodoka had to stop herself from laughing out loud as she walked through the streets. "Closer and closer you draw," she thought. "The ring is coming. Maybe it won't speed up the wedding, but it will seal the deal. I'll have my Son and Daughter - and the rest of my extended family! I'll belong!" All right, she knew she was being silly, but she had been sick and alone a long time. Her marriage had been a sham and her son taken away from her when he was young. Now she had an annulment, and her son was back, and he came with a wife (-to-be) and two sister/nieces that had accepted her. Even Soun was precious to her - he was a jackass, but most sisters considered their brothers to be jackasses. More important than anything was the fact that she didn't want to lose any of them. "Caution!" she warned herself. "You can gently push, but don't force. Things will happen. As long as they keep rolling their eyes and sighing, everything's fine." Still, she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

She continued down the street happily while window shopping here and there. At one particular window, she did a double-take - Toshio Kuno was sitting alone in a bistro staring sightlessly out a window looking depressed. Nodoka knew him by reputation and somewhat personally. Reputation-wise, he was a billionaire and head of Kuno enterprises. He was reputed to be a tough taskmaster, but stuck by his employees so long as they stood by him. He gave millions to charities and funded many projects that supported the "public good." He also was a behind-the-scenes politician with a long reach. On a personal level, Toshio Kuno was a supporter of Ranma and Akane, doing what he could to make their lives easier - whether it was securing resources like hospital rooms or sitting on Tatewaki and Kodachi Kuno, former suitors of the couple. Tofu had told Nodoka that Toshio considered Ranma and Akane important in defeating the mysterious Storm that was to descend on Nerima in the near future.

On an even more personal level, Nodoka knew Kuno was a fan of her Nuido art. The owner of the shop that Nodoka sold her embroidery at had told her that Toshio had bought several of Nodoka's pieces. Rumors had it that one of her larger pieces was hanging in his meeting room at the Nerima estate. Other pieces had been given as gifts to important visitors. His patronage had prompted Nodoka to track him down in the market one day and thank him.

The meeting hadn't gone quite as she expected though. She thought he'd just accept her thanks, quickly praise her work, and move on - Kuno had a reputation of being aloof after all. The man she met actually seemed to recognize her and was smiling warmly even before she introduced herself. He made a point of taking off his sunglasses and bowing to her, something extremely unusual for a patron. His eyes were as open as his smile and his posture was relaxed. He was…well, he was "charming" - something that the rumors about him never suggested. They had talked for about a quarter of an hour, and when Nodoka left, she felt a little bemused.

After their first meeting, Nodoka bumped into him about twice a week or so. Once or twice, she noticed that he would see her across the market and alter his meandering to gradually meet up with her and chat for a few minutes. After a few such meetings, she became comfortable enough to approach him casually and inquire how he was. This led to sharing coffee and eventually a friendship blossomed.

Now her friend was alone and looking depressed. She promptly turned around and went inside the restaurant. She walked up to Kuno's table and looked steadily at him. Finally, she spoke: "Given the look on your face, I'd say you just lost a major deal. Care to share with a friend?"

Kuno snapped out of his trance with a start and looked at Nodoka. "Ms. Saotome!" he exclaimed and then quickly stood up. "What a pleasure to see you!" She smiled encouragingly at him, prompting him to ask: "Won't you please sit down and join me for lunch?"

"Well…" Nodoka hesitated. She was surprised by how quickly Toshio seemed to drop his melancholy, but she would swear she saw a slight pleading briefly in his eyes, so she answered: "I have time, I suppose. I'm just dropping off some work to 'Meiko's Gift Shop', but they are not expecting me at any particular time." He beamed at that and she sat down.

The two of ordered lunch and had a pleasant conversation while waiting. Nodoka didn't push him (yet) about the reason he had been looking miserable, biding her time. He asked about her extended family, but she didn't waste time asking about his since she knew that Tatewaki was still giving him issues. Instead, she inquired about his business dealings that she had read about in the paper (and knew were successful). She wanted him at ease before she changed tack and pushed him for what was wrong. Once food arrived, she changed to politics and tried to see what he thought of the latest nonsense out of the National Diet. He suddenly realized she was trying to extract information from him and coyly reflected the questions back at her. She accepted the challenge and spoke her mind, watching for his reactions. He seemed surprised about her opinions here and there, and countered some of them, but the give-and-take was friendly. Finally, he seemed to make up his mind and deliberately gave her the opening she was looking for. "Amazing, good lady," he said with a smile. "You are much more informed than many of your peers."

"You'd be amazed with I've seen during my exile," she said directly as she held a cup of coffee. "And you already know what I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis - Sasuke is skilled. So… what's wrong?"

He pursed his lips for a minute and then drew a deep breath. "Nothing you're not familiar with," he said with a slumping to the shoulders. "I managed to get myself cursed."

This may have sounded like an unusual thing to say in most of the world - but not in Nerima. Nodoka took the pronouncement in stride. "Have you seen Ono yet?"

"He's the one who told me - but he doesn't know by what yet," Kuno said sourly. Nodoka gave a knowing smile. She knew enough about Toshio to know that he liked to be ahead of everyone. She also knew that Ono liked to do the same, and that Ono could be a bit smug sometimes.

"But you know," Nodoka guessed. "And you haven't figured out how to get rid of it yet."

With a sour look, he nodded. "It's called a water sprite and it's trying to drown me in my own fluids."

Concern lit up Nodoka's face. "Is there anything you can do?" she asked with obvious distress.

"Yes, I can take salt tablets and diuretics for a while - at least until I wreck my kidneys. Hopefully, it will either give up or my idiot mages will figure out how to banish it before then."

"Surely, Tofu hasn't given up," Nodoka insisted. "He's incapable of turning someone away."

"Oh, I'm sure he hasn't," Toshio acknowledged with a dismissive wave. "But, while I'll admit he's good, my people aren't slackers either."

"Perhaps, but there's more to him than meets the eye. Have you heard from him again today?" she pressed. Kuno just shook his head with the same dismissive attitude, so Nodoka took out her phone. Toshio was about to stop her, when she said in a scolding voice: "Stop that. Let someone be concerned about you." He did stop in confusion and surprise. Nodoka figured that he wasn't use to people telling him to behave since he left college.

The phone rang and Tofu answered on the second ring. "Nodoka? Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Tofu, do you know anymore about Mr. Kuno's curse? His possession?" she asked.

"What? How do you…" he started before she cut him off.

"He's one of my friends and I'm having lunch with him," she told him. "Surely you're working on this?"

"Of course I am," he assured her. "He's my patient, but I can't just wave my hands and fix everything - you know that," he added. There was a slight patronizing tone in his voice.

"Well, why not?" she pushed back. She knew she sounded overbearing, but sometimes Ono had to be handled firmly.

"Nodoka," Tofu replied patiently. "Three of Kuno's mages are in the hospital right now because they tried to banish it." Nodoka's eyebrows shot up. "I'd like to try something they didn't before I join them."

"Why is it so hard to get rid of?" she asked with a little confusion. "I've seen you banish spirits before."

"Because it's not a spirit. It's a sprite from everything I can gather. It's not really alive and it never has been. It has a very different sense of self, if it has any at all. It's very difficult to isolate from a soul - if it manages to get in," He explained. "It's mostly made of water - just like us. So, it's hard to physically separate too."

Nodoka looked at Toshio who gave an "I told you so" shrug. That only annoyed Nodoka - why were all the men around her so sure of themselves? You would think that with all the strong women (on all counts) in Nerima, the men would realize they don't hold all the answers. Why, Akane has had to put up with any number of …

Nodoka's thoughts stopped cold. "Tofu," she started carefully after a moment. "This thing isn't alive and it's mostly made of water, right?"

"Yes, that's right…" he said and then trailed off as he recognized where she was going.

"Idiot!" she exclaimed. "You are just like all the men in this town. Stop trying to solve this yourself and go get your sister-in-law out of school!" Now Kuno looked confused. (1)

"Whoa, whoa! It's not that simple!" Tofu protested. "We need to setup our own wards to protect Akane. It will take a little time."

"Fine, don't pull her from school," Nodoka agreed. "Get set up and I'll stop by the high school to tell her to come straight home."

"Hold on, hold on. Kuno's with you? Can I speak to him? Please?" the doctor asked.

Nodoka handed the phone to Kuno without a word. Toshio answered with: "Kuno." He listened for a bit and said: "Yes. Salt tablets and diuretics." There was a long pause and a stunned expression appeared on Kuno's face. "She can do what?... No one's been able to do that!" After an even longer pause, Kuno half-shouted: "Now wait a minute! We can't risk her!" Nodoka watched his face get somewhat red. After a few minutes, he finally blew out a frustrated breath and said: "All right…I suppose things are moving ahead." Another pause and he added: "I'll be there at 4PM." He handed the phone back to Nodoka grimly.

"Thank you," she said as she took the phone back.

"You've just endangered your daughter-in-law," he answered.

"No, I haven't," she said firmly as she put the phone away. "Akane is even tougher than people think she is - which is saying something." Nodoka looked him in the eyes and added: "She's stood against gods and dragons; this thing cannot harm her." Kuno returned her gaze and something that might have been a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Nodoka broke eye contact and picked up her coffee again. "Besides," she continued. "Ranma and Tofu will be there to protect her as well. You're the one in danger here, so eat! From what I've seen of exorcisms, this will be hardest on you." She reached out and tapped the table by his plate.

Kuno dug into the remainder of his meal. "And how many exorcisms have you seen?" he prodded.

"About half-a-dozen," she answered dismissively. "Usually just run-of-the-mill onis that people accidently let out of spirit traps. Once was someone's dead ancestor - now that was interesting."

"That's an awfully blasé attitude," he noted with an arched eyebrow.

"This from a man with at least three mages on his payroll?" she shot back with an amused tone. Her voice turned more resigned as she said: "My son switches gender with water; one of his adopted brothers changes into a duck; his foster brother changes into a pig; the other adopted brother shifts shape under his own will; and his best friend and wife-to-be bursts into flame when she gets really angry. All of them are mages or have the Sight. All of them can lift cars, shatter rock, and move faster than the eye can follow. My eldest niece also has the Sight and is a Healer - and she has the Strength. So does my foster brother/in-law. The most 'normal' person around me is my money-loving niece who at the very least can disappear like a ninja - I also suspect she's hiding other secrets that I'm trying to discover." She looked directly at him again and arched an eyebrow right back at him. "What exactly is suppose to surprise me?"

Kuno burst out laughing. "Touché, Ms. Saotome! Touché!" Nodoka grinned back at him and then finished her coffee as he finished his meal (hers was already gone).

When she was sure he had eaten, she said: "Good. Now, I do have to run my handiwork over to Meiko's and then stop by the high school so Akane knows her skills are needed." She reached over and squeezed his hand briefly, a gesture that caught him off-guard. "Thank you for lunch and the conversation. I enjoyed it very much. I'll see you at 4PM at the clinic." She let go and grinned at him. "Don't make me have Akane hunt you down. She's likely to drag Ranma into it and things will rapidly get out of control from there. I don't think even your people will be able to handle it." Kuno laughed again and said his 'Goodbye' as well.

* * *

A/N: Footnotes:

(1) In "At the Beach", we learned Akane can cause water to do unusual things - she somehow disrupts it's normal state. These effects are the reason she couldn't swim (although she can now - if she swims holding someone's hand).

* * *

A/N: Next up - The Water Sprite


	4. The Water Sprite

Chapter 4: The Water Sprite (Saturday, December 28, 2002)

Kuno watched the subject of his infatuation leave and grinned to himself: "All right, it was worth getting cursed just for that lunch." Out loud, he said sharply: "Sasuke!"

The little ninja appeared before him. "Yes, Master Kuno?" Sasuke asked.

"Keep a watch over her - and keep your mouth shut," Kuno ordered.

Sasuke put on an innocent face. "Of course, Master Kuno," he replied. Then his voice firmed up a little and said: "I'll see you at 4PM, Sir."

Kuno sighed. "You'd help them hunt me down, wouldn't you?"

The exaggerated innocence returned. "Of course not, sir. I'd never disobey an order, Master Kuno. You told me to keep my mouth shut and I will. Unfortunately, before you issued the order, I already told Ms. Nakagawa about your 4PM appointment - just so she knew you were booked. I'm sure she notified your doctors and mages, Sir. After all, you do pay them to look after your well being."

Kuno's face began to look annoyed so Sasuke added smoothly: "And I'm sure you don't want to disappoint Ms. Saotome. She will be looking for you after all." Kuno sighed again as his shoulders dropped in surrender. Sasuke bowed to his Master and vanished.

* * *

Kuno approached the clinic with his assistant/bodyguard, Mr. Marcus, an American mage on his payroll. Marcus (as he was frequently addressed) was the one who managed to finally identify the interloper this morning - after three others failed. He was also wise enough *not* to attempt an exorcism. Physically, he didn't look like much of a bodyguard (despite the sunglasses), but Kuno had other bodyguards for physical threats; Marcus was a world-class mage. Usually, the middle-age gentleman in the tailored suit was a very reserved man, but the mage was practically giddy with excitement at the idea of meeting Tofu, Akane, and Ranma.

"What is with you?" Kuno demanded in exasperation.

"Excuse me?" Marcus replied with a raised eyebrow. "I'm going to walk into the domain of a Kitsune Lord and meet the Keepers of two World Elemental Spirits?"

"Ono is mostly human," Kuno replied. "And Ranma and Akane are fully human."

"Ono has the aura of a multi-tailed Kitsune," Marcus shot back. "You may have seen only one tail, but his people count him much higher than that - like maybe a Five-Tailed. And the two teenagers cast multiple auras - and not all of them are human. Especially in Ranma's case."

"So why hasn't anyone else picked up on that?" Kuno challenged.

"Because having the Sight doesn't grant you understanding - you have to train and refine it. Most people would just see them as 'more than human' and leave well enough alone," Marcus said sharply. Then he sobered and added: "Of course, that would be the most sensible course of action. Playing with some of the 'things' hidden in Nerima is not recommended."

Kuno smiled smugly to himself. His employee had been surprised and even a little awed at the inhabitants of the city. "Are you sure the sprite can't possess Akane?" Kuno asked.

"No. She's already possessed by her Familiar - although neither word is really accurate," Marcus answered. Kuno gestured for him to continue, so he said: "A World Spirit is too powerful to be a Familiar, and she is not its Master. But, it's not controlling Akane - her free will is unfettered. I'd say there's a mutual symbiosis between them, but I'm not sure how it's possible. Any way you look at it, if the sprite tries to take over Akane, it's going to find itself out-classed real fast."

"But Ranma's been possessed twice since Wind moved in…" Kuno checked.

"And how did that work for the possessors?" Marcus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Point," Kuno acknowledged.

"And Fire will be looking for the sprite to try something. It will be on its guard. The sprite doesn't stand a chance," Marcus concluded as they neared the clinic.

They entered the clinic and Mrs. Shimizu was at the desk again (Kuno had told his people to get her name for him). She looked up and gave a friendly smile to the two gentlemen. "Ah, Mr. Kuno, right on time. Thank you. Is this your personal physician? I'm sorry, Doctor?" she prompted.

"Dr. Marcus," Kuno's assistant answered politely.

"Excellent, Dr. Marcus," Mrs. Shimizu replied. Kuno was a little surprised that she took Marcus at his word. Surely, she knew every real doctor in Nerima, private and otherwise. "You both should go to Room D upstairs. Take the stairs over there to the upper floor and make a right at the top. It's about half way down the hallway."

"Thank you, Mrs. Shimizu," Kuno said, but she didn't react to his knowledge of her name one way or another.

When they walked into the hallway at the top of the stairs, they immediately saw a young red-headed woman wearing scrubs pushing a linen/laundry cart. Kuno immediately felt his stomach knot up - just the same as it has before three mages ended up in the hospital. He locked down his own recognition. The pig-tailed woman looked at him innocently. "Can I help you?" she asked. She looked to be in her late teens/early twenties.

"We're looking for Room D," Kuno prompted.

"It's just over here," she pointed and stepped out of the way.

As Kuno passed the undeclared shape-shifter, he felt the knot inside himself ease up. Marcus opened the door for his boss and Kuno entered the room. Inside, the room was almost empty except for three comfortable-looking armchairs, an examination table, a pile of rumpled bed linens in one corner, and a second young woman with blue-black hair wearing paint-stained overalls and a matching cap. She seemed to be applying some sort of clear lacquer to the floor around the edges of the room. There was a faint smell of turpentine in the air. Once more the knot in Kuno's stomach tightened. "Oh, hello," the second woman said. "I'm sorry, but I have to finish this room or the stain will not set properly. Are you sure you're suppose to be here?"

"Yes, I'm suppose to meet Dr. Ono here," Kuno said firmly.

The blue-black haired woman shrugged. "All right, you're not bothering me. Have a seat and I should be out of her shortly." Kuno nodded and felt the knot loosen again. He and Marcus sat in two of the armchairs. The young woman continued working around the room until she came to the pile of linens. She looked over at Marcus and asked sweetly: "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm covered in paint. Could you move these linens for me? You don't have to pick them up - just kick them over to the side."

Before Kuno said anything, Marcus jumped out of his chair and immediately ran over to the woman. Kuno listened with surprise as his assistant began to chat and then actually flirt with the young woman. Kuno knew Marcus could be very smooth when he wanted to, but he still was surprised that Marcus managed to get a business card from the girl and got her to take one as well. When Marcus came back to his chair, Kuno mumbled "Do that on your own time."

"An opportunity once lost is never regained," Marcus smirked. Both men dropped the subject. Meanwhile the woman continued her work around the edges of the room.

Soon after, Dr. Ono came into the room. Kuno felt his gut clench again. "Mr. Kuno, Dr. Marcus - good to see you again," Ono said. Both men stood up and exchanged bows with Ono. Ono indicated that they should take their chairs again, so they did and Ono sat in the third chair. "So, I looked at your test results and you definitely have an electrolyte imbalance. Your kidneys are not affected yet…" Ono started and then proceeded to ramble on in detail about the medical tests he had run. As the doctor spoke, Kuno's gut relaxed once more.

The doctor continued speaking for ten minutes on the minutia of the tests, boring Kuno to tears. Just as the billionaire was starting to wonder if Ono lost his mind, there was a knock on the room's door and the red-head woman opened it. "Excuse me, Dr. Ono? I need to get the last of the linens."

"Now?" the doctor demanded crossly.

"The truck is due any minute, Doctor. I delayed as long as I could," she reasoned.

"Oh, all right," Ono answered petulantly. As the woman came in, Ono seemed to dismiss her and focused on Kuno. "All right, Mr. Kuno. Hop up on the examining table and let me listen to your lungs." Kuno suppressed his rapidly thinning patience and did as he was told. Ono took out a stethoscope and made a show of listening to Kuno's breathing. He seemed to spend and inordinate amount of time listening when he finally sighed. A cross look appeared on his face and he said sternly: "All right, I know his heart is working. You can stop hiding the sound now."

Immediately, Kuno's stomach clenched and a column of water shot out of his mouth at Ono. Ono dodged as only a Nerima Martial Artist could and threw himself sideways. The column stopped as if it was a solid mass, extending about a meter from Kuno's mouth, then it flowed back inside. As had happened in the Sea Quester pub, Kuno felt himself pushed to the side and a voice not his own hissed from his lips: _"I know what you are, Kitsune. You can't touch me without hurting him, but I can hurt you."_

Another pseudopod lashed at Ono, but he dodged again. "Not impressed," he replied. Marcus was on his feet, staying as close as he could without getting in the way. The painter and the orderly were somehow ignoring the scene.

 _"I'm so disappointed,"_ the whisper laughed. " _I should just kill him now and go home."_ Kuno felt the knot begin to constrict inside again. He grunted in pain.

"So, why don't you?" Ono demanded.

"Ono!" Marcus called out, obviously distressed at the idea.

"You can burst his lungs or heart right now instead of all this messing about," Ono continued. "There's no need to kill him so slowly. You don't even feed on his pain. You're not getting anything out of this."

 _"That's my business,_ " the voice hissed as it relaxed the knot again. _"You can't do anything about it. I'll kill him when I'm ready - then I'll leave."_

"You're not going anywhere," Ono told it. "NOW AKANE!" he yelled.

Akane touched the floor and fire shot from her touch, lighting up the trail she had so carefully painted on the floor. The smokeless fire spread quickly, illuminating a magic Circle surrounding everyone in the room. As that happened, Ranma (in his female form), pulled out a shop vac that had been hidden in the linen cart. She placed her hand on it and it immediately began suctioning despite not being plugged in. She held the suction pipe at the ready.

 _"Watch him die then!"_ the sprite inside Kuno hissed.

Instantly, Kuno felt water fill his lungs. He tried to bend forward and cough it out, but he could not move - it felt like his chest had turned to stone. He felt water flow up his throat from inside and start to pour out his mouth. He tried to raise his arms to his throat to indicate he was in trouble, but he felt as if he was surrounded by thick cement or quicksand. Any movement took great effort. But, before panic could set in, he felt a woman's hand on his back. Warmth spread from that touch. And with it, came the ability to move. He bent over and tried to force the water out.

"Hold still!" Akane commanded behind him. "You won't get enough out to breathe!" She slid up on the table behind him and wrapped her arms around him. Warmth radiated into him further and a new sensation filled him - he felt the sprite scream. The spirit thrashed inside him, rattling his bones and generating pain everywhere. Akane placed a fist on his navel and covered the fist with her other hand. Then she pulled inward and then thrust upward with her joined hands. Kuno felt fluid shoot out of his mouth across the room. "RANMA!" Akane called out.

"Got it!" Ranma shouted back. She began sucking up the fluid with the shop vac.

Kuno found he was able to breathe shallowly, but he still felt like someone was trying to smother him. The sprite's pain was torturing him as well. "I said hold still!" Akane yelled. "It's still inside you!" Kuno could see a trail of water flowing out of his mouth. Akane pulled and thrust upwards again and more fluid shot out of his mouth. Kuno would swear he threw up about six liters of water. "Tofu!" Akane shouted. "It's making water!" Once more, Akane repeated the Heimlich Maneuver.

"Oh Hell!" Ono yelled. "It's not just a water sprite! It's a real Elemental!"

"That I can stop!" Marcus shouted. He pulled out a wand and pointed it at Kuno and Akane. A bubble formed around the two and expanded to the boundary of Akane's flaming Circle, encompassing Tofu, Marcus and Ranma. Ranma continued to suck up the fluid with her vacuum.

The elemental screamed again, but this time everyone could hear it. "What are you, Girl?!" a high shrieking voice came from Kuno's lips. Kuno fought against it, nearly breaking his jaw. The voice was lost in a rush of water as Akane pulled in on Kuno's abdomen again. Now Kuno felt a painful tingling breakout all over his body at once. Meanwhile the shop vacuum was starting to vibrate violently even as Ranma held it down with one hand to keep it in place.

"I am a Fire Mage! Be afraid!" Akane yelled at the spirit as she applied another thrust.

"Liar!" the shrieking voice screamed.

The tingling sensation flowed toward Kuno's center. He felt something seize his heart and it faltered. "NO!" Tofu shouted shoving his hand over Kuno's heart. The tingle immediately lifted up and away from his heart and rose up into his throat. "OUT!" Tofu commanded. Marcus placed his hand over Tofu's and repeated the command. Kuno vomited more water and Ranma somehow increased the suction, drawing the fluid across the room before it could even hit the floor.

"OUT!" Akane, Tofu, and Marcus commanded together.

Suddenly, Kuno felt something inside himself snap and a burst of fluid flung itself away from him. It flowed into the shop vac and Ranma dropped the pipe to slam her other hand on the machine as it was trying to jump around the room. Kuno felt all his energy leave with the sprite and fell back into Akane's arms. Akane race around him and threw him over her shoulder. Then she leapt to the room's door, breaking Marcus's Ward in the process, but leaving her Circle intact. She threw the door open and dumped Kuno onto a waiting stretcher. Akane then jumped back into the room and slammed the door behind her.

Kuno was only vaguely aware that he wasn't alone, but he had trouble focusing. He did hear Nodoka's voice clearly say: "Go! I'm staying here."

Kuno heard someone (a nurse?) start to argue when another strong voice cut in: "Don't argue with a mother. Get Mr. Kuno to the ambulance and get him to the dojo like you were told. Once he's there, this thing can't track him anymore. GO!"

Kuno felt the stretcher enter an elevator and then he passed out.

* * *

Akane stepped into the Circle again as Marcus pointed his wand at the shop vacuum and re-established his Ward again. "Sorry!" she called out.

Marcus just shrugged. "Couldn't be helped!" he yelled back over the ruckus coming from the vacuum cleaner. He made another gesture and the Ward expanded beyond Akane's Circle to enclose the entire room. "Thanks for putting my name in the Circle."

Meanwhile Ranma was fighting to keep the shop vac on the ground. "Just remember she has a jealous fiancé," the red-head shouted.

Marcus gave a quick smirk and then looked at Tofu. "Will that hold?" he asked the doctor as he pointed at the shop vac.

The vacuum cleaner promptly exploded throwing Ranma against a wall. The martial artist immediately ricocheted off the wall and back into the Circle, landing on his feet. "No!" Ranma answered for Tofu.

"I built the trap to hold a normal water sprite, not an elemental!" Tofu added. "That would have taken a lot of time we didn't have!"

The water elemental resembled a standing wave as it stood there where the vacuum had been. The upper portion looked vaguely like the torso of a woman. Its eyes were very clear though - and they showed that the creature was furious. It looked scornfully at Ranma and the two men, and then focused on Akane. "You have cost me dearly, creature. I will kill you slowly and eventually take your soul back to Henna. She will spend so much time torturing you, she will forget about me."

"That explains why it was taking it sweet time with Kuno - it's not in a hurry to go back to Henna," Tofu noted.

"You're really not that bright, are you?" Akane asked the thing haughtily. "I'm not going anywhere."

The thing snarled and flowed into a jet of water directed at Akane. Ranma leaped at the stream only to have it slam her away. Tofu and Marcus shot some sort of spells at it which did damage, but did not stop the jet hurling at Akane. Akane stood her ground and raised her hand against the stream. She was immediately enveloped in a cloud of steam. A scream shattered the air.

* * *

A/N: Next up - The last chapter and an epilogue.


	5. Bargain

Chapter 5: Bargain (Saturday, December 28, 2002)

"AKANE!" Ranma shouted leaping forward. The end of her cry became a growl.

"IT HURTS ME!" the Elemental cried. Water raced away from Akane who was standing straight and unbowed, surrounded by mist. A second later, a large black panther appeared by the young woman's side, surrounded by a glowing blue aura.

"What the hell is that?!" Marcus yelled.

Tofu looked a little nonplussed. "O.K., new trigger - put Akane in danger," he said almost to himself.

Akane looked annoyed at the great cat. "I can handle this, dummy. I'm better equipped than you are."

The cat looked at Akane with what could only be called a raised eyebrow. "Akane-mate dreams," Ranma hissed with a grin. Akane just rolled her eyes.

"Might as well join the party," Tofu told an astonished Marcus. Tofu moved over to Akane's other side.

Marcus followed him and then looked at the Water Elemental nursing itself at the other side of the Circle. "It's preparing itself to attack again," he told Tofu. "It doesn't have any options. Unless it kills Miss Tendo, it can't leave the Circle and my Ward stops it from flooding us away."

Tofu shook his head. "Actually, it could wait. Sooner or later, the Circle will wear out and it will escape anyway. We can't let that happen though. We can't let it go back to Henna. Any ideas?"

"So catch-and-hold," hissed from the great jungle cat.

"With what?" Tofu asked.

"I have something that will hold an Elemental - but not so large," Marcus said. "That thing is huge!"

"Let me see it," Akane requested. Marcus reached into his suit pocket and somehow pulled out something that looked like a liter thermos covered in runes. "Man, you weren't kidding about it being small," she responded. Marcus just shrugged. Akane took it from him and balanced it on her hand. The she looked at Tofu. "You got anything that would shrink it down to size?" she asked him.

"No," Tofu responded. "Water doesn't compress like air. We'd have to strip away its physical form." He paused for a second. "I suppose we could do that - there are four of us and you can break its hold over its substance."

"That's going to hurt it a lot," Marcus said with a grimace. "And we're going to take damage doing it. It's going to fight us. But I need to protect Kuno." He paused and then added: "Still, I see heavy drinking in my future."

"But it doesn't want to go back to Enemy," Ranma hissed. "Bargain?"

Akane replied: "I can give it a shot - I can hurt it more than it can hurt me." She began to breathe deeply.

Marcus looked at the Elemental trying to psych itself up again. "O.K., so when it attacks, who does what?"

Ranma snorted at his pessimism. Tofu stated with a shrug: "We have to reduce it. Best is extreme heat/cold. Ranma, Akane, and I are immune to that in battle, so don't hold back. We're also resistant to electricity, but use that sparingly. Other than that, blunt weapons." He looked at Ranma. "Don't bother with the Chi claws, they won't do much." He gestured at the windows in the room and they all slid open, startling the Elemental. Tofu then looked at Ranma and made a half-circle gesture. Ranma nodded and a wind began blowing in one set of windows and out the other. "We need to throw the water out of the windows," Tofu finished. Marcus made a gesture and his ward expanded to move outside the windows.

"Are we ready?" Akane asked. Ranma looked down at her (it was hard to tell the cat's gender) paws and nodded; the paws doubled in size and the legs changed to accommodate them. Overall, the paws were about five times the size of her hands. Marcus shook his head in wonderment at the cat.

"How are your defenses?" Tofu asked Marcus.

"I just have general stuff," he answered. "It can't possess me, and I can block most physical damage. It can't drown me, but suffocation is a distinct possibility."

"Just like the rest of us - Try not to do that," Tofu told him. "We need to watch out for each other. If anyone goes down, get them to a window." Marcus nodded. Tofu looked at Akane: "All right, Miss Tendo; give it a shot." Ranma's half circle of wind increased speed.

Akane nodded and walked forward. The Elemental turned to give her its undivided attention. "Please," Akane started. "We really don't want to hurt you. You don't have to fight us and you don't have to go back to Henna. If you give in, we'll hold you safely until summer. Then we'll dump you into the Sea."

The Elemental turned and flowed furiously at Akane. "YOU LIE," it roared. Marcus rushed to the side and began firing some sort of missile spell at it again. Each missile detonated as it hit the thing sending up a burst of spray which was carried away by Ranma's fierce wind. Tofu moved up toward Akane, his hands glowing blue. Ranma was beside him. The water engulfed Akane entirely, trying in vain to lift her off the floor. It flowed past her to attack Ranma and Tofu. Tofu responded with a heat blast that boiled the water coming at him. Ranma swiped at the stream, her huge paw deflecting the flow up and into the air. Almost immediately, a loud screaming arose from the sprite again. Instantly, it blew apart and more of its substance was blown out the window as the rest retreated back again. Akane was crouching on the floor at the center of the explosion. She was shaking her head to get rid of the ringing the scream left in her skull, but otherwise she was all right.

Akane stood up again and looked at the wounded spirit surrounded by its envelope of water. "You can't win," she told it. "I cannot be hurt by water. You can't possess me. It's my Circle. No matter what happens, no matter who else you kill, you can't escape me." Suddenly, her voice changed and she sounded much younger. "And if you do manage to kill someone, you'll only make me angry," the young voice said. With that Akane burst into flame.

"Fire cannot hurt me," the Elemental hissed. Then it rushed the young woman again. There was a blast of steam which was ripped away by the wind followed by another scream and the thing retreated again.

"Want to reconsider that?" Akane asked in her normal voice while still surrounded by flame. "You haven't managed to put out my Circle yet either. And I know you've been trying."

"This has got to be one of my more interesting days," Marcus murmured.

The Elemental rushed at Akane again, but dodged her and engulfed Ranma sweeping the cat up and suspending Ranma inside itself. "Let me out," the spirit demanded. "Or I'll kill your pet!"

"Bad choice," Akane said crossly. She started to focus on the Elemental, but held off when she saw Ranma wrap herself in ice. The ice expanded like a wheel with the great cat as a hub. The humanoid part of the Elemental looked to be in distress as the wheel was about to cut it in half.

"NO!" the spirit screamed. It flowed away from Ranma leaving the cat caught in the wheel of ice. Before Ranma could get her bearings, Marcus flicked his wand at Ranma, and the wheel burst, freeing Ranma. Ranma nodded at the wand-wielder and immediately began chucking the ice out the window.

Tofu addressed the Elemental: "That just cost you a lot. You're way overmatched. How much will you lose before we win? There's an easier way - you could even preserve most of your strength with the bargain." Indeed, Tofu was right - the thing had lost a third of its mass in the three attacks.

In answer, the spirit rushed at Marcus. He responded with a blast of heat the peeled back the outer layers of the stream, but the bulk of it caught him and swept him off his feet. His wand went flying as the Elemental rolled him. Tofu made a gesture and stopped the wand from flying out the window. The doctor then sent it back to Marcus whose hand clenched on it instinctively. There was a bust of electricity and the Sprite screamed again. After a second burst, it dropped Marcus hard. "Crap," Marcus moaned fighting not to pass out.

Tofu ran over to him and tapped in on the shoulder. "That will hold you for now," the doctor told him as Marcus straightened and tried to get up.

"My turn," Ranma hissed. The cat leapt after the retreating Elemental and began using it shovel size paws to slap apart its substance. The thing tried to attack the cat with psuedopods of water, but Ranma was ready for it this time. The tentacles of water froze solid and Ranma slashed them to bits using his claws. This action hurt the Water Elemental a lot as its spirit was still caught in the ice as the claws sliced through its very being. The ice that Ranma threw did not go through the Circle - instead it shattered at the boundary and melted on the never-dying flames. The scream that tore from it was like nothing any of them heard before. Mindlessly, the Elemental hurled the great cat across the entire room to slam into the far wall with a tremendous "BOOM!" Ranma immediately bounce off unfazed. The Elemental collapsed into a blob of water.

"What the hell did you make the walls out of?!" Marcus asked as Tofu pulled him up.

Akane paid them no attention. Instead she created a white ball of fire hanging just above the Elemental. The thing shrunk away from the intense heat. "STOP!" it shouted.

"Maybe," Akane said. Ranma slunk up to brush against her legs. Tofu and Marcus moved to stand just behind the two. "Give me your Name." Tofu looked surprised at that. The ball of heat above the Elemental burned hotter, but it did not touch the creature.

"No!" the Elemental gasped. "You and Henna will tear me apart!"

"Henna is not my friend," Akane told it. "Give me your Name, and I promise never to hurt you with it. I just want you to sleep for a few months. Give it to me and promise never to fight against me again, and you'll be dumped into the Sea once summer starts."

"How can I trust you?" it demanded.

"Because I am a Maiden of King Kurage," Akane stated. (1)

The Elemental formed eyes that stared at Akane. "How is that possible?" it asked, the voice no longer shrieking.

"I am," she stated again. "You're of the Water just like he is. Look at me. Do you think he would allow me to keep you beyond our Bargain? He'd compel me to keep my end so long as you kept yours."

"It's not possible - you are of the Fire," it hissed lightly. There was a pause, and then added: "and yet it is."

Tofu seemed to catch on. "We are of Life as well," he said. "Both him and us. Our Bond is through that."

"Teacher tells truth," the panther snarled. "Akane-Mate, Teacher, and Ranma blessed by Jellyfish King. Friend. No hurt if give in."

"What the hell…" Marcus mumbled.

Akane advanced on the Elemental and spoke clearly: "You only have to give me your Name and release the water. I won't drain you or hurt you. Once you're in the container, Henna can't control you anymore. We'll make sure you're released once summer starts. No matter how things end, we'll make sure you free."

"I'll agree too," Marcus chimed in from behind. "Once summer comes, I won't rest until you're free again - and I don't need your Name. I can undo the trap without it. You just have to give your Name to Miss Tendo. I swear by my Soul Name."

The Elemental looked at Marcus. As it stared at him, more eyes appeared in its substance. Finally, it said: "Agreed." With that the eyes vanished and a diaphanous form lifted from the ball of water. The shape looked to be about a meter high and was a very feminine looking humanoid as it floated there. She wore a sparkling gown that flowed over and away from her to merge with the ball of water. The shape moved over to Akane and seemed to whisper in her ear. Akane whispered back and the shape seemed to flow into the container Akane held. Everyone held their breath until another whisper filled the room. "Agreed… I am ready." Akane closed the lid of the container gently and secured the latch. Immediately, the ball of water collapsed, flowing past the boundaries of the flaming Circle and flooding the room.

"I think the clinic's closed for a little bit," Marcus observed while studying the mess. "Looks like she was able to bring in a lot of water while my ward was down. Your downstairs is now flooding."

"No, it's confined to this room," Ono replied. "It can't make it outside." Then he smirked and added: "Good thing I have apprentices to clean up the mess."

"Slave driver," Ranma muttered. The cat form had suddenly vanished.

Akane looked annoyed at Tofu. Then she walked over to him and shoved the spirit trap at him. "Here, hold on to that." She took Ranma's out stretched hand and Tofu moved away from them, pulling Marcus with him. The two young women closed their eyes and a whirlwind arose around them. Immediately, a mist began to arise from the water and the whirlwind pulled the mist into itself. More and more water became mist and the water level began to drop. Ranma made a gesture, and a geyser of water shot out a window. This went on for several minutes. Tofu stood watching in amusement while Marcus just looked on in amazement. The two women continued until all the water had left the room. Then Ranma stopped the whirlwind and the steady wind that had been blowing through the windows.

Marcus was the first to comment with a low whistle. "Impressive…" he said understatedly.

"They can be useful when they want to be," Tofu said with a smirk.

Akane threw an aggravated look at her brother-in-law. Then she walked over and snatched the spirit trap back from him. "I made the promise, I'll keep her safe."

"Her?" Tofu asked.

"Her," Akane said firmly. She looked at Marcus and pointed at Tofu. "Bill him for the trap," she said. Marcus chuckled at that. "Anything I need to know?" she asked Marcus.

He shook his head. "Just that the trap will fail if I die. It's sealed with my blood," he replied.

Tofu looked at him. "That's why she finally accepted. She knows you won't live forever even if something goes wrong," the doctor noted.

"And that's why I swore the oath. No matter what happens, she'll eventually be free," Marcus shrugged. "And she stays away from Henna."

"Yeah, well in that case, you better stay alive until we break Henna's power," Ranma told him. "Otherwise, she'll have to go after Kuno again. She won't have a choice."

"That thought did occur to me," Marcus smirked. "I'm sure it will occur to Mr. Kuno as well." Tofu snorted lightly.

* * *

Toshio woke up in an unfamiliar room. He looked around. The room was neat and orderly. There were Nuido wall hangings all around the room, and the bedside lamp had a shade also made from Nuido handiwork. "I'm in Nodoka's room," he half muttered to himself.

"Yes, sir. You are," Sasuke answered him.

Kuno looked at the far end of the room and saw his little ninja sitting on a chair watching him.

"Why am I here?" Kuno asked.

"Doctor Ono had set up a Circle in the dojo to keep you in while he and the other dealt with the sprite," Sasuke informed him quietly. "Once they trapped the spirit and sealed it away, Ono had you moved here. No one was sure how long you'd be out."

"And how long have I been out?"

"It's 9AM on the 28th. You've been out for a little over 16 hours," Sasuke answered.

Kuno sat up. "Have they located Tatewaki yet?" he pressed. He felt a little dizzy, but things settled quickly enough.

"They found his trail, but not him yet," the ninja answered.

Kuno snorted at that. "Are Akane and Ranma all right?" he said. At the head nod, "What about Marcus and Ono?"

"Marcus has two ribs damaged - mostly healed thanks to Ono. He was the only casualty. The rest are fine. We need to talk about Marcus later - he's managed to make himself indispensable, but it's not that big a deal."

"So tell me now," Kuno ordered.

"Not a good idea, sir. You see…" Sasuke started, only to be interrupted by a door knock. "Ms. Saotome is coming to see you." With that, the little ninja vanished.

"Hello?" Nodoka called through the door. "May I come in?"

Kuno looked down at his clothing. He was dressed in his own pajamas, which were pretty sturdy. "Why didn't they just move me home?" he wonder silently. He pushed the question aside and decided he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "I'm awake, Ms. Saotome! Come in!"

Nodoka entered carrying a tray of food. "You look well for someone who nearly drown," she noted with a smile.

He smiled back and shrugged. "I guess you were right - Akane managed to beat the water sprite."

She sat the tray down on the end table and then pulled over a chair to sit by him. "Well, she did, but Ono said it was more than just a sprite - he said it was an Elemental. Something that could have killed you outright, but it really wasn't interested in rushing back to its Master, so it pretended to be weaker."

"And Akane banished it anyway," he concluded.

Nodoka made a so-so gesture and said: "Mr. Marcus and Tofu also had to help - otherwise it would have killed you as it left. Between the three of them, they excised it before it could do any real damage. As it is, Ono says you have some interesting claw marks on your insides. He wants you to take an antibiotic for ten days though. Your own doctors are in full agreement." She tapped a little bottle on the tray she brought him and then she laughed at his grimace. "You must have had an interesting childhood - you absolutely hate having anyone tell you what to do."

He made another face and then replied: "I've gotten better over the years. I found that there's very little difference between a good servant and a good master, except you pay a servant to order you about and they are more polite and circumspect about it."

She chuckled at that. "Well, your 'servants' are waiting for you downstairs when you're ready - we had a full house last night. Kasumi is keeping them distracted with breakfast, so you can eat yours in peace. Soun is keeping them company and will pay his respects when you come down. Tofu is at the clinic and the children are about their business."

Now Kuno chuckled. "Children?" he questioned. "Two eighteen year olds, a nineteen year old, and a twenty year old?" (A/N: Akane, Ranma, Mousse, and Nabiki)

"Don't knock it. I repeat their ages to myself so I don't end up marching Ranma and Akane to the altar," she told him primly.

Kuno actually laughed now. "Not happening - you don't want an elopement anymore. You're looking for a wedding with all the trimmings. That takes time." Nodoka gave him a very direct look at that assessment, but the look he returned was absolutely impish - he knew she had changed and he had her dead-to-rights.

Nodoka's eyes softened after a minute or so. "Maybe," she admitted with a shrug.

"Besides," he continued. "There's enough going on right now - you're niece is getting married in three days."

"Four," Nodoka corrected.

"I know about the small civil wedding on New Year's Eve," he told her. "I always keep track of what Sanu is up to. I plan on crashing the ceremony."

"What? Why?" she asked confused.

"Let's just say Ono is one of my sparring partners. He and I have been playing one-upmanship for years," Kuno admitted with a laugh. "Since I'm not invited to the formal ceremony, I'll be hiding in the shadows gloating as he finally gets caught in something without a way out."

"All right; that I sort of understand," she admitted. Then she looked at Kuno speculatively. "Do you want to attend the formal wedding?" she asked. "And can you dance?"

Kuno sensed an opportunity. "I can dance very well," he replied, boasting just a little. "And I wouldn't mind seeing the formal wedding. It should be very amusing given the guest list."

"Fine. You can come with me then," she stated. "Everyone at my table has a date but me and Soun, and he doesn't really dance. Besides, I'd feel funny dancing with him - there are already enough rumors about the two of us, but he's not my type. I'd like to start some new rumors."

"I'd be more than willing to be your fall guy," Kuno answered with a grin.

Nodoka returned the smile and said: "Done."

* * *

A/N: Footnotes:

(1) See the manga story "The Mystery of Jellyfish Beach" or read my story "At the Beach".


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue: Aftermath

Ranma followed Akane over to the town library and watched patiently as she took down a Chinese-Japanese dictionary and studied the pronunciation guide. He looked curiously as she scribbled down several possible spellings/symbol combinations. He pointed at one of them and said: "I think that's the one you're looking for."

She looked at him quizzically and said: "But I haven't told you what I was after."

"If you're after a word, it has to be common - something you've run across before to trigger your curiosity. There are only a handful of words you would have heard," he answered.

She looked at him with a small grin. "And when did you get so smart?" she teased.

"Hey," he protested lightly. "I've always been smart - I just don't waste it on school."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. What's it mean?" she asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "But it was on the signs around Jusenkyo."

She frowned at that. "I think you're right – it's the word I'm after then," she answered.

Akane flipped through the pages until she found the equivalent. "Water spring," she nodded to herself.

"Sorry?" Ranma prompted.

"The Elemental's name," Akane answered. "It was long enough that she really doesn't have to worry about me using it against her. I was lucky enough to pronounce all of it the first time through. But I remember this phrase." She stopped to tap the paper. "Plum and her father used it a lot. Considering how concerned they were about Jusenkyo, now I know why."

"OK…So what?" Ranma asked.

She looked distantly thoughtful and replied: "It's something Tofu said during lessons - the difference between Elementals. Air and Fire rarely stick to one place. Water and Earth are different though. Those Elementals tend to grow from permanent things - mountains, islands, lakes, rivers…"

"And springs," Ranma finished.

Akane nodded and added: "And they - the Elementals - are fundamentally part and parcel of the thing they're spun from. So, if we've captured a Water Spring Elemental, then we have the essence of a physical spring somewhere."

"Which means there's a dried up spring somewhere in China; probably near Henna," Ranma said. He found something troubling about that statement, but he didn't know why. When he looked at Akane's face, he saw his worry mirrored in her eyes.

* * *

Razor looked at the empty bowl of the smallest of the Seven Springs. She remembered General Xie's warning and his demands. "No," she mumbled. "This is just a natural occurrence. Things have been very dry lately. The spring will re-start once the rains come." But deep down, she knew she was lying to herself.

* * *

Apay sat in the garden and stared at the spirit trap balanced on her palm. She had studied Marcus's trap through Akane and re-created this one in an effort to understand it. She shook her head and thought: "Humans can be so devious sometimes. The insides are like a maze. Once the lid closes, a geometric singularity forms and the spirit cannot find its way out." Truth be known, Apay had managed to trap herself twice – she had to dissolve the trap to get out. "I'll give Marcus credit though – he used his own blood to make sure the trap would fail after his death. Otherwise, the spirit would have to wait until it was released or Time decayed the trap."

She made the trap vanish and laid back on the grass, watching Akane's daydreams wrapped in wispy clouds dance across the blue sky of the Spirit Realm. "I think I can beat it so long as I am attached to Akane. I'll talk to Suma and Rera first – I need to make sure Akane can't be hurt. I think I want the six of us working on this together. If we can beat it, that's one less tool Henna has." She mused on the idea for a while. "Too bad I can't trap Henna in one – that would be a sweet revenge."

Apay sat up suddenly, her eyes wide. "I can't trap Henna, but I wonder who I can trap…" she pondered.

* * *

"No! That's not possible! I can't have lost touch with Qi! She's mine!" Henna thought wildly. Despite that, the witch could find her Elemental. "Even if she was Shielded, I could still find her. No one has the power to break our connection. But where is she?"

After hours of searching, Henna had to give up. "Somehow, she found a way to escape me - probably with Toshio Kuno's help," Henna said to herself. "I need to get her back, but I should forget about Kuno for a while - I need to kill Akari Unryu safely first."

Henna was silent for a long time. Finally she poured some water into a bowl and swirled the water. Unbidden, an image formed in the bowl. It was of a young pigtailed man. As Henna watched the image, it shifted to a red-head woman, then to a large blue-black panther, and back to a young man again. "And you, Ranma of Nerima. This is all your fault. You have to die too…"

* * *

A/N: Next up - Ever heard of the song "The Ballroom Blitz"? Come read "Kasumi's Wedding Blitz". See you then!


End file.
